The organisers of the Consumer Electronics Show - where most forthcoming products are announced for the year - are scouting for a cheaper US city to stage the annual convention, the Las Vegas Sun reports.
Exhibitors have complained that the increasing cost of hotel accommodation, food and drink are threatening to price show …

Greedy sods

Might not be good for CES

Much thought I hate to admit it (I'm not a huge fan of the place), moving out of Las Vegas might not be that good for CES.

Whatever else you think of Vegas, it does have glamour. A kind of tits-out glamour, to be sure, but it's got a lot to offer delegates after the show: more entertainment options than pretty-much anywhere else on Earth. CES has always been the sweet post-Christmas "jolly", even for those who have serious business to do.

Take that away, and what's left? Just Another Trade Show

Delegate attendance will fall off first, followed by exhibitors, and the focus for the annual CE jamboree will probably change to Comdex (when/if it gets its act together again).

Aim at third metatarsal; cock hammer; take first pressure; _gently_ squeeze...

Orlando has my vote.

I attend the IAAPA, PRI and I/ITSEC (Let's just say I have a broad base of customers) shows pretty regularly, and love going to Orlando. This could be because I have a fascination and respect for shiny tourist traps, but the convention center itself is great and there's no arguing with the weather - particularly when you've flown in from Upstate NY.

And I'd guess that in a place geared for frighteningly large gobs of tourists, in the off-season, hotel rates would stay fairly reasonable. Usually stay with friends when I'm down there now, though, so I can't say what it's like for those shows.

I just hope the show doesn't go to Atlanta. I'll stroll through Brooklyn at all hours without a care, but two blocks from the convention center in ATL shortly after dark (and there were no street lights) made the hair on the back of my neck stand up: Pitch black, a dead end across some weedy train tracks, and knots of guys standing around eying the shiny rental car with "convention attendees loaded with cash" written all over it. Brr-r-r-r-r-r.

Self-serving nosense

Just look at this article itself. They're looking for "exhibition halls capable of hosting a show as big as CES". Tall order, is it? No it's damn well not. Pretty much every city on earth has at least one large empty buliding for the purpose of hosting large events. Perhaps CES does need a particularly large empty bulding, but no matter how large it is there will still be many, many venues across America that could accomodate it.

The people who make these kind of decisions want CES to be in Las Vegas so they can get a nice suite and play poker all day while the nerds in their employ are doing the whole technology fair thing before going home to the $100-a-day flea-holes mentioned above.

Want a cheap venue ?

No great surprise there then......

The septics are specialists at bumping up the prices if they think they have a captive audience.

A few years ago 4 of us went to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. In the final five days leading up to Fat Tuesday itself the room rates essentially doubled each day. Along with beer prices, club entry, etc etc.

We stood for 2 days of sharing a single room between us, then told them to stuff it, put their money where their mouth was and find those other people that would happily pay those rates for the room (as they'd been bending our ears about all week).

Judging by the looks on their faces as we left, I think we'd successfully called their bluff. Oh what a shame!

What comes with the hype...

This whole thing about inflated prices is just something that comes with the hype of a big show like this.

Half of me just accepts this, and the other half does feel that it's a bit unethical (to put it mildly) - it's like the stories we heard about hotels in London putting up their prices really high when the bombings prevented a lot of people from getting home.

Of course, those situations were not the same - I think the London hotels were being pure evil by profiting from those who had no choice, whereas people can choose whether to go to CES. Hey, stay in a motel instead, there's plenty of them - more money to spend on cool gadgets (no sarcasm at all btw :)).

Move to Louisville

If you want affordable - move the show to Louisville KY. Convenient, prices well below those in Vegas. Lots of space at the convention center and lots of entertainment options. Louisville is also very centrally located and within driving distance of many major cities.

Chicago?

As a resident of Chicago, I'd like CES to come up here. That would make my life easier. I hate the BS you need to go through for commercial flights.

As a realist, f*** no. It would have to happen at McCormick Place. Yes it has 2.7 million square feet of exhibit space, but there is nothing around that area. OK, there is one hotel, a hot dog stand and a few "undercover" data centers in the 350 building. No way the Donald E. Stephens Center could hold this event.

And as for the AEO

Want to bet that attendance at the Adult Entertainment Expo goes through the floor if the CES moves out of town? Or that it moves to wherever the CES moves to? As one of your readers has commented, it is a tits-out kind of glamour.

Of course it begs the question how many people use the CES as a front for going to the AEO? Move the AEO out of town first and see how many people stop going to the CES!

LV isn't a good place for conventions

Firstly I attend approx 4 trade conventions annually in the US, 3 last year in LV.

I hate the place.

For an international traveller (from London) LV is not easy to get to, very few direct flights and a long way as well. A move towards the East Coast, to a city with an international airport is required. Oh and one other criteria... avoid Chicago, nice town but O'Hare is the Worst Airport In The World and seems to suffer almost continuous delays & cancellations due to poor weather.

I'd like to see it in Orlando or Miami myself and I'll probably go again.

Miami!

They'd be crazy not to consider Miami! East coast destination with plenty of flights from the U.S. and Europe. Excellent weather. Bars, beaches, parties, coke (for those into it), porn star conventions, and other extra-curriculars just like Vegas. One suggestion, though? Learn Spanish. ;)

Florida

If they held CES in Florida I'd even look into visiting (and I'm scared of flying!). I looked into flights to Las Vegas, I was just curious to see how much they were, too expensive for my liking compared to cheapo flights to Orlando.

Even better, if it was in Fort Lauderdale, FL, I could book a room at the Hotel Coral Essex*

Rob

* Those of you who've seen Revenge Of The Nerds 2 will know what I'm on about.